Classic Concentration: The Return
by Mr. BC
Summary: Buttercup and Brick both want a new car. But neither can afford it. A game show from 1987-1991, now returned, could give them it.
1. Buttercup's game

(Important Note: Nothing here is owned by me. Just an idea that I turned into a story.)  
  
The narrator starts up. "The City of Townsville, and on this Tuesday, May 12. Buttercup and her family are in dire need of a new car. The one have now is aging and badly out of shape. But Buttercup can't afford a car. How will she get it? I wonder."  
  
Brick also felt he needed a car because he wanted it vacated until he was 16 so that when he could get his driver's license, he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding one or having to pay for one.  
  
How would the two of these young people compete for a new car? Read and find out.  
  
Out of a black screen on NBC, a 25 square 5x5 board appeared and opened up its doors, revealing a rebus, as announcer Gene Wood spoke and the same terrific Classic Concentration music played:  
  
"Behind these numbers is a puzzle. Can you solve it? F + lay + fur. Flavor. Uh + F. Of. The W + eek. Week. Flavor Of The Week! If you can do that, you'll have a chance to win one of these eight fabulous cars as we play Classic Concentration! And here's the host of Concentration, Alex Trebek!  
  
On cue, Alex Trebek walked down a staircase adjacent to the eight cars and faced the camera. (Although he looks much different now than he does at the time of this show, pretend he looks like he is at the time of this show) "Thank you, Gene. Hi folks, and welcome to Classic Concentration," he said as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "Today we will have two kindergarteners competing today, so let's meet them."  
  
The contestants' table turned around and faced the television monitor with the puzzle on it. "To the left here is 5-year-old Buttercup the Powerpuff Girl from Pokey Oaks Kindergarten." The crowd applauded. "And to the right is 6-year-old Brick the Rowdyruff Boy from Toxic Juice Kindergarten." The crowd applauded him as well.  
  
"So, let's get started, players," The screen changed to show the 25 door board on its television monitor. "The object of the game is to make matches by saying a number and matching prizes behind the numbers on that large TV monitor in front of you. If you unsuccessfully try to match prizes, the doors will close and control of the board will shift to your opponent. There are three wild cards up there, and two take cards. The player who ends up correctly solving the puzzle wins all the prizes they accumulate and move on to attempt to win a new car. Are you ready, kids?"  
  
"Ready," the two said simultaneously.  
  
"Please win, Buttercup, please," the Professor pleaded under his breath. He was watching from the audience.  
  
"Okay," Alex responded. "We flipped a coin backstage to determine who will go first. Buttercup, that's you so you get to pick the first two numbers."  
  
"Okay, Alex, let's go with numbers 5 and 13," she said. Behind 5 was a cell phone, and 13 was a trip to Dallas. That obviously does not match. So the numbers were covered up and Brick received control of the board.  
  
He chose numbers 10 and 25. They didn't match because number 10 was a dishwasher, and 25 was a very unusual one: Mojo's evil plans. The numbers were covered up, but Buttercup was absolutely determined to get that.  
  
The next two numbers she chose were 25 and 18. You know what 25 was, but 18 was a wild card. Buttercup was ecstatic as she accumulated that prize. The other prize was under number 22, and those numbers were removed, revealing part of the rebus.  
  
Mojo had been watching this at home and went into a furious tirade: "You have got to be kidding me! Since when did I allow NBC to have my plans? I did not give them to you. I keep them in a secret cabinet in my home, not there. I tell you, shows brought back up from 1987 are travesties, jokes, and farces. It is LUNACY! Buttercup, you have absolutely no access to my ideas! If you win that prize, although it is safe in my house, I will have your...."  
  
OK, we're getting off-topic. Let's get back to the game.  
  
"Buttercup, you have Mojo Jojo's evil plans and control of the board again. Can you solve that puzzle?" Alex asked.  
  
"Obviously not," Buttercup replied in a somewhat haughty tone.  
  
"Okay then, select again."  
  
She took numbers 12 and 17. 17 was an emerald ring, and 12 was a green take card, which automatically revealed part of the puzzle.  
  
"Buttercup, you now have this take card," Alex said. "When Brick accumulates a prize, you can take it from him. You can't use it now because he doesn't have anything. You get another pick to try to get that emerald ring."  
  
She then prophetically chose number 9. Numbers 9, 12, and 17 were removed and you could see a little bit more of the rebus as the emerald ring went to Buttercup.  
  
"I can't solve the puzzle, so I'll pick two more," said Buttercup, which Alex acknowledged. She went ahead and chose 4 and 15. 4 was a refrigerator and 15 was a microwave.  
  
Brick chose 7 and 11. 7 was a laptop and 11 was a refrigerator.  
  
Buttercup remembered that she had chosen a number with refrigerator under it. She could have used her x-ray vision if she wanted to, but she knew that that would be cheating, so she didn't bother. She chose 11 and took a wild guess and chose 4. Luckily enough, 4 had the refrigerator under it. Those two, 4 and 11, were brought away, Buttercup had the refrigerator and the puzzle was exposed a little more. But she still couldn't figure it out.  
  
Her next two guesses were 1 and 3. 1 was a dishwasher and 3 was a microwave.  
  
Brick got lucky his next turn. The numbers he chose were 2 and 6. They were both wild cards, giving him a $500 bonus, and in choosing number 19, he accumulated a big screen TV. The other big screen TV was under 21. Those four numbers were brought away and the puzzle could be a little clearer.  
  
"Can I solve the puzzle," he asked Alex.  
  
"You can if you want," Alex told him.  
  
Then Brick made his guess: "Stackhouse Sweeting!"  
  
"No, that's incorrect," Alex said.  
  
This, however, gave Buttercup a huge lift from that guess, seeing the clues on the rebus.  
  
"Buttercup, it's your turn again," Alex said to her.  
  
"I'd actually like to solve the puzzle," she replied.  
  
"Very well," Alex replied.  
  
Buttercup then made her guess: "Stockholm, Sweden!"  
  
"You are correct, ma'am!" Alex said as chimes and the theme played. Buttercup was psyched and Brick was furious. The remainder of the numbers on the monitor opened up, revealing the entire rebus. "Buttercup, before we tell you what you've won, why don't you go over there and interpret the puzzle for us?"  
  
"Sure will, Alex!" she said, floating up to the monitor, and pointing to the pictures. "Stock plus home equals Stockholm. Sweet plus den equals Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden!"  
  
This was what the rebus looked like: The first picture was a stock, something similar to New York Stock Exchange. Then a plus sign, leading to a picture of a house. In the next line, a home sweet home mat was shown with arrows pointing to the word "sweet." Plus sign. And finally a picture of a family den. That is the puzzle explanation.  
  
"Okay, Buttercup, let's take a look at your prize list. You've won an emerald ring, a refrigerator, and most importantly, Mojo's evil plans. Those prizes total $2,900."  
  
Upon seeing this at home, Mojo was in an absolute state of infuriation. "That is just not right! NBC does not own the rights to any of my mischievous ideas. I should sue them for doing this. Should Buttercup win a car here, I will snatch it from her, and take away my ideas. Hey, wait a second! My ideas are right here in my files! Not there! Who does NBC think they are?! Did I mention that shows from 1987 are just plain stupid? Well, they are, and I will shut down their..."  
  
When will Mojo learn to shut his big fat trap up?  
  
The show then went to commercial break, and Buttercup was floating next to Alex on stage next to the cars.  
  
"Okay, Buttercup, we showed you the cars and now you have a chance to win one of them," Alex said. "Any preferences?"  
  
"Yes, Alex. In fact I do. I like the 2003 Jaguar V6 up there."  
  
"Well, let's see if you get that. Good luck. Now, look up at that monitor up there." A 3x5 15-grid board appeared with her pictured on the side. "Give me 35 seconds on the clock please. And start."  
  
"2(Monte Carlo), 10(Acura). 5(Aston Martin), 9(Dodge). [30 seconds left.] 14(Acura), 10(Acura) [first match] 4(Pontiac), 1(Pontiac) [second match] 9(Jaguar), 13(BMW). 8(Chrysler), 11(Jaguar). [20 seconds left] 5(Aston Martin), 6(Jeep). 7(Chrysler), 8(Chrysler). [third match] 12(Monte Carlo), 2(Monte Carlo) [fourth match, 10 seconds left] 13(BMW), 6(Jeep). 15(Jeep), 6(Jeep) [fifth match, 5 seconds left] 3(Aston Martin), 5(Aston Martin) [sixth match, 3 seconds left, she'd better hurry!] 11(Jaguar), 9(Jaguar) [final match, 2 seconds on the clock, she wins the Jaguar!]  
  
"Buttercup, you've done it!" Alex exclaims as Buttercup hugs him in ecstasy. "Your preference is now reality!"  
  
The Professor runs up and gives Buttercup a big hug as the audience loudly applauds her.  
  
"This is my father, Professor Utonium!" Buttercup said in between shrieks of joy.  
  
"She always told me she wanted a Jaguar," the Professor told Alex.  
  
"Well, now she's got it," Alex responded.  
  
"Thank you so much, Alex," the Professor said.  
  
"You're very welcome. Enjoy that 2003 Jaguar," he said back before turning to the camera. "Well, join us tomorrow with two new contestants vying for another car. Until then, I'm Alex Trebek. Thanks for joining us, good night." Then the show's end theme started and Gene Wood acknowledged the sponsors.  
  
(A/N: Excuse me if I am a little off in writing this story. The last time it was on television, I was only 7 years old. I'm now 15, turning 16 in the middle of this month. I will eventually include Blossom and Bubbles in future competitions.) 


	2. Bubbles' game

The narrator starts up again. "The City of Townsville, and it's a gorgeous afternoon on this Saturday, January 3. Perfect weather and... (car revs up) Say, what's that noise? Oh, figures.  
  
Buttercup and the Professor took a ride in the Jaguar she won last May. Bubbles will now compete in a game that you will soon read about.  
  
"Professor, will Blossom be in a game also?" Buttercup asked as she looked around in the car. Although she had now had it for almost a year, she hadn't been riding around in it much.  
  
"Well, I hope so, Buttercup," the Professor replied. "We'll see. You think Bubbles will win today?"  
  
"Let's hope so."  
  
  
  
  
  
Out of a black screen on NBC, the 25 square 5x5 board appeared again and opened up its doors, revealing a rebus, as Gene Wood spoke and the Classic Concentration music played:  
  
"Behind these numbers is a puzzle. Can you solve it? O + slow. Oslo. N + or + way. Norway. Oslo, Norway! If you can do that, you'll have a chance to win one of these eight fabulous cars as we play Classic Concentration! And here's the host of Concentration, Alex Trebek!  
  
On cue, Alex Trebek walked down the staircase adjacent to the eight cars and faced the camera. "Thank you, Gene. Hi folks, and welcome again to Classic Concentration," he said as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "Today we will have a kindergartener and a rude and mean gangster competing today, so let's meet them."  
  
The contestants' table turned around and faced the television monitor with the puzzle on it. "To the left here is 5-year-old Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl from Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. She is the sister of Buttercup, who earlier won a car." The crowd applauded. "And to the right is 26-year-old Ace, leader of the Gangreen Gang from Townsville." The crowd booed him, showing whose side they were on.  
  
"So, let's get started, players," The screen changed to show the 25 door board on its television monitor. "The object of the game is to make as many matches as you can by saying a number and matching prizes behind the numbers on that large TV monitor in front of you. If you unsuccessfully try to match prizes, the doors will close and control of the board will shift to your opponent. There are three wild cards up there, and two take cards. The player who ends up correctly solving the puzzle wins all the prizes they accumulate and then move on to try to win a new car. Are you ready, people?"  
  
"Yes, Alex," the two of them said. Ace added something very rude to Bubbles.  
  
"You know, you should have coke before every match."  
  
"You mean cocaine?!" Bubbles asked appalled.  
  
"No, Coca-Cola. Of course cocaine," he said with a smirk.  
  
"Why I'm gonna..."  
  
"Okay, okay, let's settle down." Alex restored order. "We flipped a coin backstage, and Bubbles, you will start off. Select."  
  
"Let's take numbers 4 and 23," she said, trying to shrug the insult off. 4 was a dishwasher and 23 was a telescope. The numbers were flipped over and Ace was given a shot.  
  
"Let's go with 5 and 19," he said after Alex noted it was his turn. 5 was a wild card while 19 was a microwave. The other microwave was under 12. The microwave was credited to Ace and the three doors went away revealing part of the rebus.  
  
"Can you solve the puzzle, Ace?" Alex asked.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" he rudely replied, the chose numbers 25 and 15. 25 was an oven. No match.  
  
Bubbles went and chose numbers 2 and 22. 2 was a big screen TV and 22 was a bookcase.  
  
Ace then chose 6 and 14. 6 was a red take card and 14 was an oven. He automatically took the take card and door 6 was removed from the monitor.  
  
"Ace, that's a take card which you can use later to take a prize from Bubbles when she wins one. Right now, pick another number to try and match that oven."  
  
He tried 1, but that was a DVD player, and 14 was covered up along with one, but he still had the take card.  
  
On Bubbles' next turn, she chose 8 and 11, both wild cards, earning her $500, and then chose 24: Him's Supremacy. The other match of that was under 21.  
  
Him was watching this at home. I am not even going to take the time to tell you what he said or what he did because it is immensely scary and extremely inappropriate.  
  
Bubble's earned Him's Supremacy and the $500. removing the four spaces from the puzzle and it was clear, but not clear enough. She knew better than to use her X-ray vision.  
  
She selected 10 and 16, giving her an opal ring because it was under both of those numbers. As the doors revealed some more of the rebus, she could see it a little, but not quite enough yet.  
  
On her next turn, she opened doors 14 and 18. 14 was the oven, and 18 was the other take card, which she used right away to snatch the microwave away from Ace and then successfully guessed number 15 to give her the oven as well.  
  
She still couldn't solve the rebus, so she took another lucky guess and selected 13 and 25, giving her a sapphire pendant. Those two doors were removed and now, she had victory in her eyes.  
  
"I'd like to solve the puzzle," she told Alex.  
  
"Okay, what's your guess?" he responded.  
  
"Ghostbusters!" she triumphantly declared.  
  
"That is right, Bubbles," Alex said as chimes and the theme sounded and the doors opened up. The puzzle was shown. "Bubbles, go up there and explain the puzzle to us."  
  
"OK, Alex." She floated to the monitor and described the puzzle. "G + host = ghost. Bus + tears = busters. Ghostbusters!"  
  
Here is what the rebus looked like. There was a big "G" followed by a plus sign leading to a picture of a game show host behind a podium that said "game show" on it. Another plus sign led to a forthcoming bus and another plus sign led to a crying woman with arrows pointing to her tears. This puzzle is in the Classic Concentration book written by Steve Ryan eleven years ago. If you don't have it, I'd recommend it.  
  
"Bubbles, you have won an opal ring, a sapphire pendant, $500, and you have to win one more game to move on to win a new car."  
  
"Great!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
(You'll have to wait and see if Bubbles will win the game and try to duplicate her sister's performance. Stay tuned.) 


End file.
